Ghostly Mansion
by newbienovelistRD
Summary: Autumn was hoping to have a normal Halloween this year. But when a test of courage is thrown at her, her holiday becomes a lot scarier than she knows.


**Inspired by the original Halloween music video called, 'HALLOWEEN SONG Ghostly Mansion (feat. BSlick, Swiblet, KaeKrae and SquigglyDigg), by Kyle Allen Music, here's a special, spooky story! Enjoy and Happy Halloween!**

* * *

In the quiet town of Serene Hills, it was Halloween! The leaves were all beautiful shades of yellow, red, and orange. Spooky decorations were around almost every house in the town. Everyone was excited for the most frightfully fun day of the year!

Well, almost everyone.

At the local school, eleven year old Autumn was opening her locker when she overheard a group of girls talking.

"Ghostly Mansion is opening tonight!" A bespectacled girl said in the most giddy voice. "I can't wait!"

"Me neither! I go there every year! It's a Halloween tradition!"

Hearing about Ghostly Mansion, Autumn got a case of the shivers. She was NOT a fan of Halloween. Sure, she liked to go trick or treating. But she can't handle the scary stuff.

And therefore, was too scared to even go near Ghostly Mansion.

Ghostly Mansion was the town's local haunted attraction that opens up every Halloween night. It's been in business since Autumn was a toddler. Just about everyone in town has gone to Ghostly Mansion. Except Autumn.

"You dweebs are going to Ghostly Mansion?" said a smug voice.

Autumn looked over her shoulder and saw Beth, the school's queen bee. Next to her was her sidekick and personal slave, Cindy.

Beth tossed her blonde ponytail and looked her nose down on the two younger girls, who looked very nervous.

"Um, aren't you going, Beth?" asked one of the girls.

Beth scoffed, checking her pink manicure. "No, I'm way too old for haunted houses. Besides, after going there year after year, it gets real old, real fast." She spotted Autumn, who was trying to avoid Beth's eyes. "Aren't you going, Autumn?"

Autumn tried to walk away, but Beth was right on her heels. "You should really go to Ghostly Mansion. You've never been there before in your life!"

"Autumn's never been to Ghostly Mansion?!" Cindy said, pretending to sound surprised.

"Yeah! Everyone knows Autumn is the biggest chicken in town. So of course she's never gone." Beth laughed.

Autumn spun around and looked Beth square in the eye. "I am not a chicken! And I'm going to Ghostly Mansion tomorrow!"

"Really? Then we'll go with you!" said Beth.

Autumn gulped. "What?!"

"Yeah! We'll go with you to make sure you do! Plus, it's better than taking my loser little brother trick or treating." Beth smirked. "See you tomorrow, Chicken."

"Yeah, Chicken!" Cindy laughed as she and Beth walked off.

Autumn felt like a piano fell right on top of her. She just tricked herself into going to the one place she fears the most!

* * *

That Halloween night, Autumn looked at herself in the mirror. She was dressed up as a flower. She smoothed out her green dress and adjusted her sunflower face mask. She took a deep breath and thought about the impending fear and humiliation awaiting her tonight.

She sulked out of her room, where her mother Karen was taking pictures of Autumn on her phone. "I'm so proud of you, Honey! You're finally going to Ghostly Mansion!"

"Yeah, great..." Autumn said, her voice numb.

"Sweetie, what's wrong? Aren't you excited?"

Autumn shook her head. "No, I'm only going to Ghostly Mansion because I tricked myself into going so some kids at school won't make fun of me. But I know I can't handle Ghostly Mansion."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Karen offered.

"That's not an option." said Autumn. "No offense."

"None taken." The kindly mother hugged Autumn. "You really don't have to be afraid, Sweetie. When it comes to haunted houses like Ghostly Mansion, you just have to remember that none of the monsters are real. They're only people in costumes just like you. It's all just actors and special effects."

Autumn blinked. "You know what? You're right! I mean, there's no such thing as real monsters on Halloween!"

"Exactly! Now, you go have fun at Ghostly Mansion! When you get home, I want to hear that you paid that haunted house a visit."

Autumn smiled. "You got it, Mom!"

"Now that you've got a decent smile on your face, how about a nice picture for the album?"

Autumn smiled even bigger. "You got it!"

* * *

That night, Autumn arrived at Ghostly Mansion. Upon seeing it up close with her own eyes. Autumn's chills came back.

"S-Sure is spookier than I remember..." Autumn murmured. Even though it was just an attraction, it sure looked like a legit really real haunted house. Autumn was staring so much at the mansion, she almost didn't notice the long line of people wanting to visit Ghostly Mansion!

"BOO!" someone yelled behind Autumn.

"AAAAHHHH!" Autumn jumped nearly five feet in the air. Hearing a familiar laugh, she turned and saw Beth and Cindy.

Beth looked at Autumn's costume and laughed. "Wow, Cindy! That's the scariest flower I've ever seen!"

Cindy laughed. "Yeah! We better be careful! She might attract bees!"

The mean girls laughed as Autumn tightened her fists. "Whatever!" Autumn looked back at the line. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm not wasting my Halloween standing in line all night!"

"Yeah, same here." said Beth. But she was prepared for this. "But that's okay. We don't have to wait in line."

"We don't?" Autumn said, confused.

"Nope. Just behind the mansion is a corn maze. Just go through there and you'll get in."

"What?! No way! I'm not sneaking into somewhere! That's illegal!"

"Chicken! Chicken! Chicken! Chicken! Chicken!" Beth and Cindy chanted.

"FINE! I'll do it!" Autumn snapped. She had no choice but to follow the mean girls to the other side of Ghostly Mansion. When they got there, Autumn was amazed by the corn maze! It was bigger than she thought it would be!

"So, you'll sneak in there, go through the house, then leave." Beth explained. "And you better not chicken out. Or you could enjoy the rest of your school years being an even bigger loser than before." Beth got really close to Autumn's ear. "You'll be the laughingstock of the whole school. It'll be a never-ending nightmare."

Autumn swallowed hard. Ghostly Mansion was really spooky. But being the biggest loser scaredy-cat of her school was just as bad. "Don't you worry about me. Haunted houses aren't even scary anyway." said Autumn, thinking back on her mother's advice. "It's all just actors and special effects. Smell you guys later." She ventured to the corn maze toward Ghostly Mansion.

Once the girls watch Autumn go all the way into the maze, Beth and Cindy both huddle together laughing. "I can't believe she did it!" Beth cackled. "She's still a loser no matter what she does!"

Then they ran off into the night.

* * *

In the corn maze, Lea tried to find her way through to get to Ghostly Mansion. "As long as I stay in the same direction as the mansion is, I won't get lost."

But as she went down the maze and took more turns, Autumn was starting to feel...lost. "Okay, just stay calm, Autumn."

But when a few crows flew just inches from her head, Autumn screamed and ducked to the ground. A rustling noise came through the corn stalks and a tall, lanky figure emerged.

Autumn saw a scarecrow looming over her. He had a glowing jack-o-lantern head and a flame flickering atop his straw hat!

Autumn screamed in horror, causing more crows to scatter. "PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!"

"Whoa! Easy there, little lost flower!" said the scarecrow. His voice was smooth as silk and cool as ice. "Happy Halloween! Welcome to my corn maze!"

Autumn stared at the man's scarecrow costume. His jack-o-lantern mask looked so real. His eyes, nose and mouth glowed as if there was actual fire lighting it inside.

The scarecrow noticed Autumn staring at her. "Hello?"

"Oh!" Autumn blinked. "I-I'm sorry! I was just...admiring your costume."

"Well, thank you, my friend." The scarecrow politely bowed. "I'm guessing you'd like to come inside Ghostly Mansion?"

"Uh...yes." Autumn said, a bit nervous. She yelped a little when the scarecrow put a hand on her shoulder.

"Then follow me." The scarecrow lead Autumn around a corner. When they did, Autumn was surprised to find herself right behind Ghostly Mansion.

"Huh?" Autumn blinked twice. "It was...right here all along and I didn't even know it?"

The scarecrow smiled to himself as he lead Autumn into Ghostly Mansion. When she stepped inside, Autumn gasped. It looked just like the inside of a real haunted house! There was old, dusty furniture, cobwebs, cracked windows, and spooky portraits who seemed to watch Autumn.

The scarecrow closed the back door. Autumn turned in time to see him lock the door.

Autumn started to sweat. "Um...why did you lock the door?"

"Just in case you wander into my corn maze again." The scarecrow's voice remained cool and calm. "Y'know, Autumn, if I wasn't there, you'd be stuck there for days."

"Really?" Autumn suddenly almost choked. "Wait! How do you know my name?!" She backed away and bumped into something. Autumn stiffened as she felt something warm and hairy with her hand. Whimpering, she turned around and saw a huge, hulking werewolf smiling his fangs at her!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Autumn screamed, falling to the floor.

"We've been in the haunted house biz for years!" said the werewolf as he approached Autumn. "So, we know all the kids in the neighborhood."

Autumn saw how amazingly realistic this werewolf costume was. The thick, dark fur, the solid yellow eyes that pierced into Autumn's soul. And those sharp, jagged teeth...

The werewolf circled around Autumn, sniffing her carefully. "If memory serves, this is your first time at Ghostly Mansion, Autumn!"

Autumn tried to stay calm, thinking about her mother's advice. But these monsters looked so...real! How could they be fake?! She racked through her mind to find a rational explanation.

"Oh, dear! She looks pale as a ghost!" said a sweet voice. Autumn saw two witches come in. One was dressed like a classic Halloween witch. Black witch hat, orange dress with black sleeves, black high-heeled shoes, and long red hair.

The other witch, however, looked like her evil twin. Her red hair was spiky and wild. She wore a red and black dress with a black capelet. But she wasn't smiling. "Maybe it's because she feels guilty for sneaking in here."

"Sneaking in?!" barked the werewolf.

"We saw her sneaking in while riding our broomsticks." said the mean looking witch.

"That explains why she's been in my corn maze..." said the scarecrow.

Now Autumn decided to leave this too real attraction. She backed away slowly toward the door. "O-Okay, you got me." she said nervously. "I'll just leave and n-never come back." She was about to make a break for it until a ghost came right through the locked door. He wore a blue top hat and a bone shaped bowtie.

Autumn uncorked a terrified scream, running backward from the ghost, two monsters and two witches. With her back literally against the wall, Autumn covered her eyes and tried to get a hold of herself. "Just calm down! Calm down!" she muttered to herself. "This can't be real! None of this is real! It's all just special effects!"

"Ahem."

Autumn opened her eyes and squeaked seeing the scarecrow looming over her. He grinned his glowing smile. "Does this look like a special effect?" He took off his head and gave it to Autumn. The severed head took in Autumn's terrified face. "Boo."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Autumn let out the biggest scream of her life. She dropped the head and took off running. She ran into a closet and slammed the door shut.

"H-H-He's real! He's real! He's really, really, real!" Autumn gasped, her voice filled with fear. "That means that they're all real!"

"Duh!" The closet light turned on. Autumn turned and screamed when she saw the werewolf! Autumn busted out the closet and found herself cornered again. The werewolf closed in on Autumn, he opened his mouth and ran his long, wet tongue all the way up Autumn's cheek.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Autumn screamed. She sputtered as she touched the slimy trail of drool on her face. "A w-w-w-werewolf just tasted me!" Too much to handle, Autumn fainted.

The werewolf stared at Autumn's unconscious body. He heard footsteps and saw his friends walking in.

"Guess we did a little too well." said the scarecrow.

The nice witch took out a small bottle filled with green liquid. She uncorked it and waved the fumes under Autumn's nose.

Autumn woke up from the awful smell. She coughed in disgust. "What is that smell?!"

"Ogre sweat." said the nice witch. "Works every time."

Seeing all the monsters surrounding her, Autumn was about to scream until the witch covered her mouth. "Ah, ah, ah. Don't do that." she said nicely. She comforted Autumn with a gentle hug. "There, there. It's okay, there's no need to be afraid."

"What is happening?!" Autumn said, still shivering.

"We can explain, my dear." said the scarecrow. "We are real monsters. But we're not bad monsters. I'm Jeff O'Lantern."

"And I'm Rocky!" said the werewolf.

"I'm Ophelia and this is my sister Cordelia." said the nice witch.

"Yeah, what's up?" Cordelia casually greeted.

"And I'm Spooks." said the ghost. "You see, every Halloween, we're allowed to venture into the human world. So, we decided to open our own haunted house to the public so we can mingle with the humans!"

"And give them a good scare!" Rocky added.

Autumn was flabbergasted. These were real monsters and they were...nice?! "S-So, you guys don't want to eat me?"

Rocky howled with laughter. "No way! We don't eat humans! Sorry if I licked you. I just wanted to make you sweat a little."

Autumn paused, then checked her armpit and gave it a sniff. "Well, mission accomplished." she said, making everyone laugh.

"You're pretty funny, kid." said the Cordelia. "Say, how'd you like to help us with the haunted house? It opens in an hour."

Sensing that these good monsters meant her no harm, Autumn smiled and got to her feet. "I'd love to!"

* * *

Later that night, Beth and Cindy were leaving the mall and heading home. "Nothing like a trip to the mall to make you feel good!" said Cindy.

"Yeah. And best of all, no snot-nosed brats crowding the place since they're all busy trick or treating." Beth said. "I wonder if the cops arrested Autumn for trespassing."

"BOO!"

Beth and Cindy screamed. They spun around and saw Autumn. "Hey, guys. Having fun?"

"Autumn?!" Beth said, surprised. 'Did you-?!"

"Go through Ghostly Mansion and prove I'm not a chicken nugget? Yes, I did." Autumn smirked. "In fact, reliable sources told me you and Cindy never went inside Ghostly Mansion because you were too scared to go."

At first shocked, but quickly angered Beth marched right up to Autumn. "You better not tell anyone or I'll-"

A hand grabbed Beth's shoulder. She looked over and screamed when she saw Rocky. "Or you'll what?" he snarled.

Cindy screamed when Jeff O'Lantern cackled at her with fire seeping from his mouth. Spooks howled and shrieked as Ophelia and Cordelia whizzed around Beth and Cindy on their broomsticks, laughing at the frightened girls.

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" Beth shrieked. She and Cindy ran for their lives, leaving their shopping bags behind.

Autumn and the monsters cheered in success. "That was awesome!" said Autumn. "Thanks, you guys!"

Jeff shook his head. "No, thank you for bringing us out here!" He looked around, amazed seeing the human town. "It's been so long since we stepped out of Ghostly Mansion and into the town! It's amazing!"

"Yeah! I'm glad we closed early!" said Ophelia.

"So, where to now?" asked Rocky.

"Well, I know a nice pizza place in town. You guys want to check it out?" Autumn suggested.

Rocky let out a great, big howl at the moon. "Oh, yeah! I hope they have a meat lover's special!"

Autumn and her new friends ventured to have some delicious pizza. She was so happy to meet such amazing people. But she knew that they'll return to the monster world until next Halloween.

But Autumn didn't want to think about that now. Right now, she was going to enjoy the rest of her happy Halloween.

* * *

November 1st. The day after Halloween. Autumn woke up by her phone's alarm clock.

"Time for school, Sweetie!" Karen called from downstairs. "Hurry! Or you'll be late!"

"Okay, Mom!" Autumn called back. She moaned, rubbing her tired eyes. "Oh, man. What a night..." She thought back to last night. "Did that really happen? Did I really meet real...monsters?! Nah..."

As she was wondering if her entire otherworldly experience was real or not, Autumn spotted an envelope on her bedside table. She opened it and inside was a black ring with a beautiful orange gemstone. The ring also came with a note.

**Dear Autumn, thank you for letting us hang out with you on Halloween night! The gang and I decided to make you part of our little group! Anytime you want to pay us a visit in the monster world, just rub the stone on this ring. We'll see you soon!**

**Jeff O'Lantern.**

Smiling, Autumn hugged the note and promptly put the ring on her left middle finger. She sighed in happiness as she looked at her magic ring. "Best. Halloween. Ever!"


End file.
